Booking homeopathy consultations for children

Give child consultations their own service, say in its description that a parent books and comes along, and open those slots at times a family can actually make, such as after school, on the school's afternoon off, or during school holidays. The parent fills in the booking form with their own details and writes the child's first name and age in the note. You then know before the door opens who is coming, how old they are and who you will be talking to.

A consultation with a child doesn't run like one with an adult. You talk with the parent as much as with the child, a young child may need a break, and questions about sleep, appetite or school take their own time. The length is different, and so may be the price. If child consultations sit in the same service as adult ones, you can't open slots of the right length or at the right times.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. Each slot belongs to one service with its own start and end. A parent who picks "Child consultation" only sees the slots you opened for it.

Lengths and prices are examples: set your own. Keep service names plain, the way a parent would search for them.

The public booking form asks for first name, last name, email and phone, all required, plus an optional note. For a child, the form fields hold the parent's details: that is who receives the confirmation email and who you will call if something changes. The child's details go in the note.

Say in the service description what you'd like in the note, so parents don't have to guess. Ask for one line, not a full health history: the detail belongs in the consultation. The note appears in your new-booking email and also in the calendar file attached to the parent's confirmation, so keep it short and practical.

A consultation at 10am on a Tuesday means a missed morning of school and a parent taking time off. Child consultations fill more easily at times families are free:

Create these slots on the weekdays you choose and repeat them each week until an end date. For holidays, add extra slots for those weeks only. Babies and toddlers are the exception: their parents may prefer mornings, before naps, so a few morning baby slots can sit beside your adult consultations.

Parents sometimes want to bring two children at once. Each child needs their own time, so each needs their own booking. The simplest way is to have the parent book two back-to-back slots, one per child, with each child's name in the note. If they call you instead, book both slots yourself from your calendar.

At the end of the consultation, agree on the follow-up with the parent and book it together. You can book from your calendar with the parent's name; their email is optional, and if you add it they get the same confirmation email and calendar file. School timetables change, children get ill, and parents may need to move an appointment. They can't do it online: they contact you, and you move or cancel it from your bookings list. Book doesn't email the parent when you do, so confirm the new time yourself.

Parents read your booking page closely before booking for their child. Say in plain words what a consultation involves and that homeopathy doesn't replace the child's doctor. If there are situations where the parent should see a doctor first, say so in the description rather than leave it to the consultation.

Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.